Review: The Hike

The Hike by Lucy Clarke
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

When going on an exciting trip with friends, you might expect to have fun, see beautiful sights, and feel a little exited. But Lucy Clarke's The Hike didn't have much of it. It needs more depth, more character growth, and most of all, an interesting and believable plot.

The idea of four friends going on a difficult hiking trip sounds like an interesting idea from my point of view as a reader. However, why would women with no hiking experience go hike the hardest path where even experienced people struggle?

The positive aspect in this book is the development of character background. Their reasons and disposition to be on the trip was well established. However, that degree of writing didn't expand to other aspects of the novel.

Instead of an interesting look at friendship and survival, I found myself reading a story that felt simultaneously hard to believe and somewhat predictable. Clarke used the old "whodunit" trope a lot, which works well in some stories but felt overdone. In fact, I didn't care if the main characters made it through the ordeal or not because I didn't empathize with them.

This isn't the first time that Clarke's writing has given me trouble. An underwhelming drawing of plot lines made my experience with One of the Girls, which I gave 2 stars, very similar to this one.

The plot twists, which were supposed to make things more interesting, felt forced, predictable and out of place. It seemed like the plot was just a bunch of unlikely situations, not a story that made sense.

Finally, I like that The Hike tried to combine tension with a story about personalities, and how people's lives can get in the way of friendships, but it just didn't work for me. This is not the route you want to go on if you want to read an interesting thriller with deep characters, great plot and surprising twists.

Content Warnings

Graphic - Drug abuse, Death

Moderate - Pregnancy, Death of parent, Grief

Minor - Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Infidelity

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